Liam Feeney fired up for return to Ipswich with Blackpool

It also sees Feeney return to an old haunt, having previously had a spell with Ipswich three years ago.

“I was there for about three months when I had a loan (from Bolton),” the 32-year-old said.

“I really enjoyed it. It was really good and a really nice place to live.

“It’s a massive football club, with a great set of lads, and the fans were really welcoming to me as well.

“I’ve got nothing but good memories, but now we’re both in the same league and have similar objectives of getting out of this division.

“They are going to be a strong team in this league and we’re going to have to be fully on our game to get anything down there.

“We don’t fear anyone but it’s a big game and we’ll be respectful of them.”

Having dropped into League One following relegation at the end of last season, Ipswich were duly tipped to make an immediate return to the Championship.

Fifteen games into the League One season and Paul Lambert’s players are well placed, three points behind leaders Wycombe Wanderers and with two games in hand.

The majority of their players will go into the game refreshed after sitting out their midweek FA Cup win.

With games coming up against Blackpool and Wycombe on Saturday and Tuesday respectively, Lambert took the opportunity to rotate the majority of his squad.

The decision paid off with Ipswich earning Cup progress thanks to victory against Lincoln City.

Not only have Lambert’s players had to deal with the pressure of being title favourites, the size of the club also makes them marked men to the rest of the division.

“Ipswich will be seen as a scalp as we would to quite a few teams in this league,” Feeney said.

“If we go there and beat a team top of the league, it’s a statement to the rest of the league that we mean business.

“But it’s only three points as any other game would be; we’re treating it like any other game.

“Hopefully we can go down there and get the three points.”

If Ipswich have had an impressive start to the season, then the Seasiders have also opened up in promising fashion.

A summer of change at Bloomfield Road brought a new owner, a change in the managerial hotset, as well as a number of new faces among the playing staff.

Nevertheless, they are handily placed in fifth position at this stage of the season, knowing a win tomorrow would put them within two points of Ipswich.

Feeney said: “We have a few new players, the manager’s just come in and we’re doing quite well anyway.

“We’re well versed in what we’re doing and, hopefully, that’s showing in games.”